Though Padrón's bread-and-butter line is quite affordable, and makes up the bulk of their sales, they do have more than a few higher-priced alternatives. In fact, starting with the 1964 Anniversary series, they were one of the first major manufacturers to start charging $10+ for their ‘special’ smokes. No one seemed to mind, certainly not us, since they did tend to justify their swanky price tags.

All of a sudden, we mind. Padrón’s new Damaso line is a mild, traditional Connecticut-shade wrapped cigar for those who like things refined and easygoing. The Toros we smoked for this review cost $15—in the same range as an Ashton Cabinet, more expensive than a Montecristo White, and about FIVE times the price of the Gurkha Park Avenue, which we actually prefer. Ugh.

The back story certainly got us interested. "This is a totally new blend, completely different than anything we have done before," Jorge Padrón told Cigar Aficionado. "It's Connecticut our way." Connecticut their way—interesting. Very interesting, in fact, since Padrón has never let us down. Ever. Plus, they never rush to market with anything to be trendy. If they were coming out with a Connecticut cigar, it must truly be something good.

And that’s exactly what this is: good. Well, very good technically according to our rating scale. Certainly a cigar this carefully crafted, from well-fermented tobaccos, can’t be anything less than very good. But in terms of aroma and flavor exclusively, it’s really just good. Buttery, toasty, woody and with a lemony twang that brings the flavor balance in line with a nice chardonnay wine. As appealing as that sounds, it’s a little underwhelming in practice, and especially when taking the price into consideration (which we try not to do).

This is not at all part of the new wave of amped up Connecticut cigars from the likes of Camacho, Drew Estates, etc. If you absolutely, positively must spend $15 or more on a mild, Connecticut shade wrapped cigar, then this is a good one. There are certainly others just as good, such as the aforementioned Ashton Cabinet, and also Davidoff. But geez, VegaFina is just as interesting and easygoing if lacking in finesse for one-third the price. And that damn Gurkha Park Avenue is too, and its oily wrapper is kinda sorta more appealing than the matte wrapper used here.

So if you must, then go ahead. No question, this is an elegant smoke that signals the resurgence of traditional-type cigars like Macanudo, Don Diego etc. that ruled the marketplace for the 1970s and 80s. Still, inborn Catholic guilt requires that we smoke a Gurkha instead and donate the $12 we saved to charity. Hey—how about Fuente’s Cigar Foundation?